"We're stumbling around in the unformed world, not knowing what the rules are, or if there are any rules. We're under attack from forces that want to destroy us but we don't understand."
eXistenZ is more of a chase, suspense movie than it is an interior, horror or whatever it is that, Canadian director, Cronenberg does uniquely well. His films are renowned for their ickiness but his trick was to make you feel that the ickiness was the sprit of his real subject that he was holding up a mirror to you and the nastiness and decay you saw was really a part of yourself.
Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hitcher, Dolores Claiborne, Single White Female) plays Allegra Geller, a famous game-designer in the near future. She's especially a celebrity among the fanatic gaming world. We initially realize that it's the near future because of science fiction elements presenting themselves in the opening scene. We find that gaming involves virtual reality. And leave it to director Cronenberg
to give virtual reality (VR) his own dark spin. Gamers interface with the virtual world by literally plugging the game unit into their spines.
Jude sexy Law (Gattaca, AI) plays Ted Pikul, a young man affiliated with Antenna, the company that's sponsoring Allegra's latest game, eXistenZ.
In the opening scene, things go terribly wrong for our main characters. We're presented with a deadly antagonist, and the bizarre Cronenberg touches (The Fly, Dead Ringers, Rabid, Videodrome) aren't late for their cue either. Allegra and Pikul are on the run from a group of "realists," who are intent on saving the world from virtual reality. You see, VR is so convincing that you can't tell it from reality, in fact, VR is much more interesting because you can get exciting stories (and/or games) that are challenging and/or fun. Many people prefer VR to reality and spend most of their time plugged in. The realists see VR as a deformity of humanity and aren't afraid to resort to violence to get that point across.
As we recently learned in The Matrix (and previously in Total Recall and Dark City), reality isn't always what it seems. And you can be sure that this film (as in much good literary science fiction) tweaks this issue. Good science fiction presents questions, not just entertaining situations, and hints at answers without necessarily solving anything. In this regard, eXistenZ fits the bill. Questions of consciousness form the centre of this film. Naturally we're made to ask, If VR is so real, how can we be sure we're not living in VR right now? The issue gets complicated when virtual VR (yes, VR within VR) is introduced.
We get a good dose of strangeness along the way, and I think this gives us a certain degree of freshness. For instance, the VR interface units are organic in nature (they're almost alive). In fact, when plugged in, they pretty much are alive. They bleed, they squirm, and they almost seem to breathe.
The disconcerting oddness (e.g. Cronenberg's propensity for combining art and gore) may be a bit off-putting initially, but we grow to learn that it fits perfectly with what this film is getting at. And the film takes its time at getting to its point. The first 45 minutes or so are completely unpredictable; you can't tell where this is going at all. And then when things start feeling a little more directional, the film does a rabbit move, and you're trying to catch up yet again. Am I following the story within the game? How much can it have to do with the "real" story?
Our two leads, Law & Leigh, are both very good. The film isn't really about character, and so it's a plus that we get two actors that just ooze personality. Willem Dafoe is also interesting as a gas station attendant. Ian Holm (Alien, Greystoke) is okay as a programmer friend of Leigh's.
The camera work and direction is excellent, and the backdrops and sets are perfect. The more you watch the film, the more you realise the effort that has gone into such things.
There are a number of parts of the film that on first viewing do not ring true. For example, during a driving scene, the background does not look completely real. To the more skilled eye, it is clearly done with the good old blue screen technique. On first viewing some audience members may mistake this for just bad camera work and a low budget. However, it was a conscious choice by Cronenburg to give this, and a number of other scenes a look that just isn't quite perfect, to make the viewer think. Much effort has gone into the finer detail of this movie, such as ensuring none of the 'game characters' wear complicated colours or shapes on their clothes, as this would be far harder to animate were this actually a computer contained game.
The eXistenZ soundtrack is available from BMG/RCA. More info at www.existenz.com.
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Production Year: 2007 - Science Fiction - Director: Francis Lawrence - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Dash Mihok, Will Smith, Salli Richardson, Willow Smith
Production Year: 2007 - Science Fiction - Director: Francis Lawrence - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Willow Smith, Dash Mihok, Will Smith, Charlie Tahan, Salli Richardson, Alice Braga
Advantages: Excellent quality sound; inclusion of an interesting and relevant documentary; not one but three audio commentaries. Disadvantages: The print is not anamorphic (!); slight faults in reproduction of black space are occasionally noticeable, especially during credit sequences.
B.Bligh 03.07.2001 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of eXistenZ - DVD
Advantages: An intriguing plot effectively and intelligently executed; valid and relevant discussion of current ethical issues related to technology; visually striking and with good cast performances. Disadvantages: Will not reward a viewer who is impatient or in need of a very linear narrative; open to charges of repetition of ‘Videodrome’; are the faults a deliberate part of the simulation or just the result of bad filming?
B.Bligh 08.07.2001 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of eXistenZ - DVD
![Existenz [DVD] [1999]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78529516.jpg "Existenz [DVD] [1999]")
Jan 8th, 2002
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